Profile

My research activities include research into behaviour and stress physiology with special emphasis on the relations between behavioural and stress physiological reactions, including endocrine reactions, to elucidate the welfare of dairy cattle and the effects on production.  Focus is on research into individual adaptability as well as on the relations between adaptability and production characteristics, including the importance of the genetic background and physiological status on the adaptability of the individual as well as to elucidate physiological and behavioural reactions to stressors of relevance in practice. Furthermore, the research includes development of methods for characterization of the reactivity and learning capacity of cattle kept in production systems, including the importance of various management routines to obtain efficient cow traffic in automatic milking systems. Furthermore, emphasis is on the development and application of methods for quantification of behavioural needs and research into how various social and physical factors affect the behaviour, including effects of group changes.